Electricity
by KuteInsanity
Summary: The Retroville kids are growing up. That means growth spurts, deeper voices, and for Jimmy Neutron, a newfound obsession with Cindy Vortex that is driving him crazy.


**A/N: **Wow. I havn't been on this website- or rather, updated anything at all - in what feels like years. I havn't abandonded it, I just havn't been writing very much lately.I don't know why, but I havn't felt inspired at all in the longest time. So, the other night when I was trying to fall asleep after watching the most recent new episode of Jimmy Neutron (Who else saw it! I have one word for you..."hunk-muffin") and I was suddenly struck by something I havn't been struck by in the longest time - inspiration - I knew I had to do something with it. This is the outcome of my idea.

Since I havn't written anything in a while, I don't know how good it is, but hey, I tried. Maybe this'll get me back into the swing of things. Please, please, wether you hate this story or love it, leave me a review! If I get a lot of feedback, who knows, maybe I'll feel encouraged to write more fics. Also, please feel free to tell me how I could have improved this story if you didn't like certain parts - criticism will do nothing except help me become a better writer. Please lay off the flames, though - there's a difference between saying, "Well, I didn't really like the story, to be honest. Here's how you could have improved it: lists ways" and "OMFG UR STORY SUXXX BALLZZ!" Flames do nothing except make you sound unintelligent and makes me snicker at your stupidity. P

So, here's the story.It's a one-shot, so this is it for this story. I hope people like it, but wether you do or not, like I said, please give me some feedback!

Disclaimer: I don't own Jimmy Neutron. It's that simple.

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**_Electricity_**

When you're a child, it seems like you're never, ever going to grow up. You look at all the adults and teenagers around you, and can't possibly imagine yourself ever being like them. But, before you know it, you're growing up, as well. There are some good things about this, but there are also some bad.

Jimmy Neutron was experiencing the "bad".

You see, him, as well of the rest of the Retroville gang, was at that vital stage that every child forming into a young adult must go through - puberty. Most little kids look foward to going through puberty for two reasons: they're eager to be adults, and they have no idea how hard it's going to be. Jimmy Neutron was never looking foward to it, because he always knew how hard it was going to be. Jimmy Neutron wasn't like most kids. Jimmy Neutron was a boy genius...although, the more appropriate term now would be "teenage genius".

At fourteen, he hadn't been a teenager for very long, but he wasn't as much of a boy anymore.  
Why? Puberty. Thanks to puberty, many changes had occured. For one, he was much taller now.  
He had a big growth spurt around his thirteenth birthday, much to his delight. For another,  
his voice was starting to get deeper, but it was currently at that awkward stage all boys must go through, where it can't make up it's mind. Sometimes it was deeper, and then when he least expected it, it shot back up again, higher than he'd ever heard it before.

Oh, and there was the fact he couldn't stop thinking about Cindy Vortex.

Cindy Vortex still lived across the street. Cindy Vortex was still constantly trying to be the best at everything, or at least better than him. But surprisingly, Cindy Vortex wasn't as rude and obnoxious as she used to be. She still had her moments, of course, but when Jimmy thought about when they were nine and ten and compared it to now, the change was so significant he could hardly consider her his "mortal enemy". But he wasn't sure they were exactly friends, either.

Of course, she still had all her witty, bluntly-truthful remarks, and Jimmy had a pretty short temper (especially when his ego was being squashed), and that sometimes erupted into fights. For example, a few months ago, Cindy had made it clear she could tell Jimmy was going through puberty. She didn't comment on the fact he was now taller than her, or the fact he was even more good-looking than he used to be, because those would be _positive_ things. She instead teased him about his voice cracking during a presentation he had made in their last class of the day, Health. Then she laughed, that annoying, high-pitched giggle that occasionally made him want to stick forks in his ears, go permanantly deaf, and never have to listen to it again. He knew he was going to be hurting as soon as he made a response, but he couldn't help commenting that at least HE wasn't the one who'd been PMS-ing since the day he was born. To which he received a very deep bruise on the back of his head. He was just relieved his skull hadn't actually cracked, which is what it had felt like.

But at the current time, they were on decent terms, and he was very upset because she had somehow permanently imbedded herself into his brain.

He could _not_ stop thinking about her. He suddenly found everything he did reminded him of her in some way. Whenever they were together at school, he found himself staring at her out of the corner of his eye. He suddenly started noticing things about her he had never noticed before, like how soft her hair (which she was finally deciding to wear down now) was, or how she pushed it over her shoulder when she was thinking hard, or how she tapped her pencil when she was bored, or how sometimes she bit her nails when she was nervous. Just little things like that, little things that shouldn't matter at all but were suddenly fascinating to him. He was taking in every single detail about her, from the way she looked to the way she acted, and he couldn't get it out of his mind.

Immediently, his blame fell on _puberty_. It wasn't _his _fault after all, he assured himself. It wasn't his fault he panicked now every time she tried to be civil and said "Hi" to him without adding any rude comments. It wasn't his fault he found himself going out of his way to see if he could spot her in the crowded hallways at school. It wasn't his fault, it was because he was growing up, and getting mercilessly attacked by hormones, and not to mention he saw an awful lot of her.

Carl and Sheen were still his best friends, and he knew they always would be. He didn't have a whole lot of friends, nor did he want them. He was perfectly content just having a few, even if they were some of the weirdest people he had ever met. Sheen and Libby were still dating, which wasn't any surprise at all, since they had been "dating" since they were about eleven, and had liked each other - or in Sheen's case, obsessed over - since the day they had met. But now that they were older, their dating style had changed drastically. Before, when they were young and the whole thing was awkward, they never actually called what they were doing "dating", although Sheen refered to Libby as his "girlfriend". They didn't hang out ALL the time, and when they did, they didn't act a whole lot like they were dating. They were rather calm around each other. It was a mutual understanding, they didn't have to say a whole lot, they just knew they liked each other, accepted the fact, and left it at that.

But now they were, for lack of a better word, downright frisky. They were always together, and were finally acting a lot more like real lovers than just good friends who happen to like each other. They went on REAL dates all the time, and had no shame at all - Jimmy had had to watch them kiss passionatly many, many times, and each time it sickened him more and more, just because it was very, very strange watching Sheen kiss anybody except his plastic Ultralord action figures. It seemed he had finally found something he loved as much as - dare he said it, _more_ - than Ultralord.

And Jimmy realized after a while that he was jealous. For a fleeting moment when he came to this realization, he thought he liked Libby, but then he realized he wasn't actually jealous of _her,_ he was jealous that Sheen had a girlfriend and he didn't. Then, when he realized this, he figured he didn't really want a girlfriend, he just really wanted to make out with an attractive girl. He had been kissed a few times before, but had never gone farther than that. And Libby had grown to be very attractive, he couldn't deny that. Her hair was now shoulder length. She was as tall as him so he looked right into her deep brown eyes when they looked at each other. She had a charming smile and nice, full lips. And she had some of the best legs he had ever seen, not to mention some very nice curves.

But Jimmy realized later, that he wasn't jealous when Sheen was kissing his girlfriend, he was jealous when they were holding hands, or just looking into each other's eyes and smiling. There was a look they shared between them that said everything loud and clear. They really did care about each other, a lot. Jimmy even would have said love, despite the fact they were still so young. Libby loved Sheen, and Sheen loved Libby. And Jimmy realized that's what he was jealous of. That's what he wanted.

Since he still hung out with Carl and Sheen, and Libby was around Sheen much more, and Cindy was always around Libby, he was seeing Cindy even more than he ever had. Soon after he realized what he was jealous of, he realized he couldn't stop thinking about Cindy.

That was why he was so scared.

At first, he tried denying it. He tried pushing the perposterous idea out of his mind. He figured he was just physically attracted to her, since she, like her best friend, had grown to be very attractive. There was no way he could deny it anymore. If somebody asked him what he though of her, he couldn't say "Eww! Gross!" like he used to, or people would start accusing him of being gay. So, that's all it was. She was good-looking. He was a boy, so naturally he noticed.

But that was the thing. He noticed ALL girls now, not just her. He was attracted to pretty much anything that belonged to the female species. There were many other attractive girls at his school, and he noticed all of them. And he realized he couldn't just be lusting after Cindy, because he felt different around her than he did the other girls.

If he had just been lusting, why would it be her? Despite the fact she was attractive, there were other girls at school with even better features than her. Girls who were taller, girls who were tanner, girls with wider hips and who were larger-chested. Girls with fuller lips and more seductive smiles, girls who wore much more revealing outfits. If he was just attracted because of physical features, why wasn't he lusting over one of THOSE girls?

_Because they're not your type,_ a voice in his head told him. Meaning that they might be gorgeous, but he wouldn't want to date them. But did that mean Cindy was the one he wanted to date?

_No, no way. Not even scientifically possible,_ he told himself. _There's no way Cindy is my type._

But there was another voice now, another voice that represented the other side of him, that fought back.

_Not your type, huh? She's strong, beautiful, and intelligent, not to mention single and the same age as you. That's exactly your type. Stop thinking about it scientifically. There's no scientific explanation on love, it's something you will never figure out as long as you live._

His more rational - or so he thought - voice fought back.

_Love! Who says I love her! That's ridiculus! I can't even think of a more unlikely couple!_

But then he thought about it, and realized he could. And it was none other than his best friend and his girlfriend.

Really, Libby and Sheen were about as different as it could get. Libby was calm, collected, and had more common sense than anyone he had ever met. Sheen was wild, crazy, and never, ever thought about the harm his actions could possibly have, not until after the harm had been done. They seemed like the most unlikely of couples, but they blended together perfectly. Libby brought Sheen back down to earth when he needed it, and Sheen knew exactly how to get Libby to laugh and cheer her up if she took things too seriously.

_And look how good they're doing,_ that second voice in his head shot back. _The theory of opposites attracting dosen't just work on magnets. And you and Cindy really aren't even that different, anyway._

But it didn't matter the reason why. The point was, he was deeply intrigued by her, and it was something he simply couldn't deny any longer.

At the current time, Jimmy Neutron was sitting in his assigned seat in his last class of the day, Health. Cindy, as luck would have it, was assigned to the seat right in front of him, so he found himself staring at the back of her head all class long.

Their current topic was human anatomy. Jimmy would have been fascinated with it if it weren't for the fact he already knew everything. They had talked about muscle structure today. His notebook lay open in front of him, his notes scrawled across his page in messy handwriting. He was sure he must have missed a few, as he was paying more attention to the way Cindy wrote in her neat, careful handwriting than what Mrs. White was saying.

This was one of his favorite classes because, since he was behind her, he could study her without her knowing, and if anyone else saw, make it look like he was looking toward the front of the class. He had her in a few other classes, but none of them made it easy to look at her without being obvious. He hadn't really talked to her in a while, because he just couldn't without making a fool of himself. If was that _feeling_, that feeling he got when he was around her, that tingly, in a nice way but at the same time in an I'm-going-to-barf way, that feeling he got in the very pit of his stomach that eventually spread to the rest of his body.

Mrs. White was saying something. It might have been important, so he decided to try and actually listen. She had sheets of paper in her hands, and when he finally started to focus off of his thoughts, which he'd been focusing on all class long, she had stopped talking, and instead began passing out papers to the front person in each row, who was to pass them back. Jimmy suddenly realized with a jolt that Cindy was going to have to turn around and hand them to him.

He watched as the stack of papers traveled up his aisle, growing thinner and thinner. Finally,  
there was only two left, and they were handed to Cindy. She put one on her desk, then twisted her torso and turned to face Jimmy. Their eyes made contact. Jimmy felt that sickening-but-delightful feeling overtaking his senses as he tried to keep a neutral face as she leaned foward and handed him one. He reached out to take it, his fingers lightly brushing hers, making them tingle. He had meant to say "Thanks", but he couldn't bring himself to say anything, and she turned back around.

He sighed, and looked down at the paper. He realized it was a letter addressed to parents.

"What is_ this_ all about?" He couldn't help asking out loud as the class murmered to one another. Since when did Mrs. White give notes to their parents?

Cindy suddenly turned around again. "Don't you pay attention at ALL, Neutron?"

Jimmy looked up, surprised. She was looking at him again, her face wearing an annoyed expression.

"Uh, yeah, I was just..zoning out.." He said sheepishly, his heart beginning to speed up.

She sighed in annoyance and turned back around. Jimmy felt like smacking himself. He must have sounded so stupid! He sighed and decided to read the letter that he was supposed to give to his parents. When he realized what it was about, he suddenly felt a feeling similar to the one felt when somebody is about to ride a particularily scary roller coaster.

_"Dear Parents,_

_I am writing to inform you that your child will soon be learning about the reproductive health system. We are currently studying the human anatomy, and this is the only system we have yet to go over. It is standard procedure that I must write a note to warn the parents ahead of time. This is not a permission slip, this is just a letter to let you know. Parents have had problems with their son or daughter sitting through this class in the past, and so this letter is to let you know if you, for any reasons, feel uncomfortable with the idea of your child participating in this part of class, please let me know and we'll try to work something out.  
We will be going over the male and female reproductive organs. We will not be going any farther than that. Most parents are fine with this, but if there is any sort of problem, please let me know._

_Sincerely,_

_Mrs. Janice White."_

Jimmy looked up from the letter, and realized what this was going to mean. He was going to have to sit and look at pictures and learn all about the female reproductive organs while Cindy was sitting right in front of him, smelling good and with her blonde hair flowing behind her.

There was no way he was going to be able to handle that. _No way._

He had been doing the best he could lately just to avoid her, as he couldn't handle being around her. It was hard enough dealing with the fact he couldn't stop thinking about her when she wasn't around, and when she actually was, he just got the feeling she could see right into his mind and know what he was thinking and he just couldn't handle having her around. He still talked to her if she struck up a conversation with him, but he never started one himself. He hoped she didn't think he was being rude, but he was more confused over his own feelings then he had ever been in his whole life, and being around her only complicated them more.

He jumped as the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. He gathered his books and quickly got up and left the classroom with the rest of the class, hoping to avoid her. He walked down the hallway to his locker, opened it, took out his backpack, and piled all the neccesary books inside. He then slammed it closed, and jumped to see Cindy standing right next to him.

"Where are you in a such a hurry to go?" She asked, leaning against the lockers and clutching her books to her chest.

"Uh..um..nowhere, heh. Just, uh...eager to leave school." He said lamely, and put his backpack over his shoulders and began hurridly walking away.

She caught up to him and was suddenly walking next to him. Their arms were practically touching. Jimmy didn't say anything. He couldn't. Cindy, however, continued speaking.

"Look, um..are you okay? I mean..you've been really out of it lately."

He could feel her looking at him, and tried to think of what to say. This was the thing about her, she could be so rude sometimes and other times she could be so sweet.

"I'm _fine_!" He said, a bit more rudely then he intended to. "I just..have to go." With that, he quickly got away from her and escaped in the mass of students in the crowded hallway. He didn't dare look back at her.

He felt guilty. He had been blowing her off like this all the time recently. He didn't mean to be rude. He shouldn't have been, considering it was a miracle she wasn't. But he just couldn't help it. He had a theory that if he saw her less and less, he'd stop being so deeply attracted to her. And he really, really wanted to.

Or at least, he was pretty sure he did...

--------------

The letter came home on Monday. The lesson would be on Friday. He spent the whole week determindly avoiding Cindy and trying to convince his parents to let him miss the lecture.

"But mom," he insisted as she cooked dinner one night. "I already know everything about the human anatomy! I don't need to hear it again!"

"I know, dear." She said, as she stirred something that smelled spicy in a boiling pot. "But you've known more than your teachers since first grade, and that's never stopped you from going to school before."

She had a point. "But..but..."

Judy Neutron sighed. "Jimmy, darling, I know you're just worried about how awkward it's going to be. But you're not going to be the only one feeling awkward. All the other students in your class will be going through the exact same thing."

_Not exactly the same,_ he couldn't help but think. He sighed and acted sulky, but didn't say anything more, knowing he was fighting a hopeless battle.

He was succeding in seeing Cindy less and less. He spent most of his time in his lab, giving him an excuse not to hang out with anybody. He started taking different routes to get to his classes, to avoid bumping into her in the hallway. He tried not to look at her during classes he had with her, and made sure to leave before she could talk to him when the classes ended. His goal was to stop this ridiculus fixation he had with her by the end of the week.

But it wasn't working. He still felt that tingly jolt, that almost electric feeling, when he thought of her, which he tried hard not to do. He made himself busy in the lab, trying to keep his mind on nothing but science.

But he couldn't control what he dreamed about.

And suddenly, he was dreaming about her. Nothing graphic, thank God, but dreams about her as his girlfriend, the two of them going on dates to the movies, the two of them making out in his lab. The first was on Tuesday night, and when he woke up the next morning he briefly thought about how much he wanted to shoot himself before getting up and continuing with his morning routine, making sure to take a nice cold shower.

Cindy noticed how he was trying to run away from her, and she didn't like being ignored one bit. As much as he was trying to ignore her, she was trying to get him to talk to her. But eventually, when he kept running away, she got the hint and gave up, feeling sad. She didn't know what she did wrong. She was actually trying to be nice to him, and he was the one being rude. She wasn't used to that change of pace. But she knew she was going to do something about it.

Jimmy feared that he was losing his mind. Or, rather, his sanity. His mind was still there, and Cindy was still on it. He was succeding in seeing her less in school, but he was dreaming about her more. He was thinking about her more. If he had accomplished anything that week at all, it was he was more in love with her than ever.

"Jimmy, is everything okay?" Carl asked one day as they were walking home from school together.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, Carl. Everything's fine." Jimmy responded, not even trying to look sincere.

"Are you sure? 'Cause you've seemed really out of it all week."

"Yes, I'm sure, I just..need some time alone, okay?" They had reached their houses, which were very close to each other.

"Well, it just seems like we never hang out anymore and you're always working in your lab." Carl said.

"I've always spent all my time in my lab."

"Yeah, but you let me and Sheen down with you."

Jimmy did feel bad for his best friend. Sheen was always with Libby, and he was isolating himself from the world now, so Carl must have been pretty lonely.

"Look, I really am sorry, Carl, I've just been..distracted lately. I need some time to sort out my thoughts."

"Well..okay, if you say so."

They had departed then, Carl walking the rest of the way to his house and Jimmy going to his lab, feeling like the biggest jerk in the world.

------------------

The week went by, and Friday finally came. Jimmy spent the entire day at school with squirming insides, wondering how it was going to work out.

_Maybe we'll just go over the male organs,_ he thought hopefully. He'd be fine if that's all they did. That wouldn't affect him in any way. But if they started going over the girl parts..

He had been hoping Cindy would be absent that day, but she wasn't. In fact, she was in his Algebra class right then, across the room. She looked pissed off. He couldn't blame her, he had been being so rude to her lately. He didn't mean to, he just couldn't help it. She tried to say "Hi" and he'd run away. If he was her, he'd be mad, too.

The day went by painfully slowly, but finally, it was time. He walked into the Health classroom door, trying to think about math equations. As he was walking into the doorway, he was trying to focus so hard he bumped into exactly the person he was trying to avoid.

He was expecting to hear, "Watch where you're going!" and he would have deserved such rudeness,  
but instead she muttered, "Sorry", even though it was his fault, and went to her seat without another word.

He sat down in his seat feeling miserable. He really was the biggest jerk in the world.

"Class, please take out your notebooks." Mrs. White's voice came from the front of the classroom. "Today we are going over the reproductive system."

Snickers were heard throughout the class.

"There is nothing funny about this, and if you think there is, you will be asked to leave." Mrs. White said sternly. The class quieted down. She picked up a stack of papers and began handing them out. "First," she said, "we are going to cover the female reproductive organs."

Jimmy's stomach dropped as the girls giggled nervously and the boys grinned at each other.

Cindy turned around and handed him the picture, which was none other than a scientific-looking diagram of the inside of the female body.

_Think about mathmatical equations..._

No good. His eyes looked up. Her hair looked especially shiny today, and she smelled especially good. She always had that same scent about her, that fruity, flowery scent that was always haunting him, along with everything else about her. It was drifting over him, trapping him..

He looked back down, looking at the diagram in front of him.

_Cindy has all of those.._

He was sure he was blushing now, he could feel his face heating up. He really didn't like this. Mrs. White was talking, other kids were snickering, but he was oblivious to everything. He was supposed to be taking notes but he couldn't. He couldn't concentrate. His mind was on all the moments they'd spent together in the past, all the moments that showed the different sides of her..like that time they had been stranded on that island together. He had never forgotten that, it had happened when they were eleven. The whole time they had been on the island, he was feeling something similar to what he'd been feeling the past few months, and what's more, he was sure Cindy felt it, too..

_Don't think about her she's not important stop thinking about her she means nothing to you she's just a girl.._his thoughts came all in a rush. _A very intelligent girl who is the only person you've ever met who could give you a run for your money in things like science fairs.._

Yes, she was smart, not as smart as him, but who was? She came closer in certain ways than almost anyone he knew.

_Think about math science don't think about her don't think about what we're talking about at all it's nothing important anyway just part of human life and Cindy's not that great really she's not.._

His thoughts were still rushing in a panicked way through his head. His twisted, confused thoughts. He hated himself for liking her so much. He hated growing up for making him like her so much. And he hated Mrs. White for making things worse by making him focus on female reproductive organs, which didn't help him any.

Cindy tucked her hair behind her ears and folded her arms, leaning back in her chair. Jimmy didn't know why or how, but he couldn't deny it anymore. He was in love with her. He stared at her rather annoyed-looking form, and realized the last time he had felt this confused and this big of a rush of unwanted emotion, he had been on the Love Potion he had made, only then the difference was he was much happier about this newfound feeling. He wasn't very happy now.

_Think about science..think about your inventions..think about the lab..think about Goddard.._

He realized he didn't have a single note down in his notebook. The page glared up at him angrily, blank and white. Mrs. White was still talking, he had no clue what about, and he suddenly had a very bad feeling that if he didn't get his mind off Cindy soon it was going to be obvious to the whole class that what he was thinking about wasn't science related at all.

He took a deep breath and tried desperatly to focus on Mrs. White and what the heck she was saying. But his eyes, his betraying eyes, kept darting back to the girl in front of him, warming his insides and making him feel sick at the same time. He felt like he was about to throw up. He also felt like something else was going to happen that he really, really didn't want to happen in public.

_Okay..just caaalm down...you're fine, you're a freaking genius! You can't let some girl do this to you!_

But then, it all became too much. The whole atmosphere of the class was very tense, the girls were all blushing, as were some of the guys, and that picture in front of him, and Cindy in front of him smelling so good and suddenly she leaned foward to grab her pencil which was about to roll off her desk and for a split second Jimmy caught sight of the underwear she was wearing, the very skimpy pair she was wearing, and it was all too much.

He raised his hand. "Mrs. White?"

She looked at him. "Yes, Jimmy?"

"May I go to the bathroom?"

"Can you wait until after this class, dear? I'm in the middle of a lecture, here."

"It's an emergency."

She sighed. "All right, but hurry back."

"Thank you." He got up from his chair and made his way to the front of the classroom, unaware of the annoyance on his teacher's face, unaware of the weird stares he was getting, unaware of everything except for the fact he could feel those green eyes, green unlike any green he had ever seen before, boring into his back as he left the room.

He made his way to the bathroom, already feeling more in control of himself now that he was out of that atmosphere. He entered and was relieved to see there was hardly anyone in there. He made his way to one of the farthest stalls and entered it, locking the door. He stood and leaned wearily against the inside of the door, trying to get in control of himself and all these feelings that were flooding his senses.

He suddenly hated her. Hated her for making him go through this. But that wasn't fair, it wasn't her fault. It wasn't her fault she was so smart, and so good-looking, and so strong and independent and all those other things she was that made him like her so strongly. It wasn't her fault at all. It was _his_ fault for falling for her.

But, maybe it wasn't anybody's fault. As he had learned over the last few months, and maybe even longer than that, it was impossible to control your feelings.

He opened his eyes, which he had been closing, and pictured the look on her face if he told her how he felt. Part of him thought she would laugh in his face, but the other part of him thought she would be happy. When he thought about some moments they had had when they were younger, she had seemed like she had liked him, too..and she had been trying to be nice to him, lately...it wasn't like they were enemies anymore..

He sighed. He had to tell her. He knew the only way to get this enormous pressure off his chest was to let her know, and then he could breathe a sigh of relief.

That, or avoid her forever.

When he finally left the bathroom and went back into the classroom, they had moved on to the male reproductive organs, much to his relief. The atmosphere was still tense, but he was more calmed down now. He actually managed to take some notes, but he had never felt more relieved in his life than when the bell rang, signaling it was the weekend.

He gathered his things and quickly left to get to his locker before anyone asked him anything. He reached it and opened it, putting his books away, and jumped about a foot when he heard that haunting _voice_ right next to him.

"Hey, Jimmy?"

He turned around to look at her, dropping his Algebra book. He bent down and picked it up, saying, "Um, yeah?"

"You okay? I mean, you looked really sick when you were leaving class..did you throw up or something?" She asked, and he could tell she really did care about his well-being. He felt that familiar jolt.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just..I have to go." He slammed his locker door and started to make off with his books, when he felt her hand grab the back of his shirt and pull him back.

"Why are you always in such a hurry!" She demanded, her voice now angry, sounding much more familiar.

"I'm..I'm just..let go!" He said, anger in his own voice, and he jerked away from her grip.

But she had no intentions of letting go. Her eyes were flaming, which couldn't possibly signify anything good. Her hands moved from the back of his shirt to his shoulders, and the next thing he knew she was pinning him hard against the lockers, looking very angry indeed.

"Okay, Neutron, I want to know, and I want to know NOW, what the hell is your problem! For once in my life I'm being _nice_ to your sorry ass and you keep blowing me off!" She yelled, her face close to his face, her nails digging into his shoulders.

Jimmy was temporarily frozen. He hadn't expected her to freak out like this. Plus it didn't help that she was very attractive when she got all demanding like this.

"Well! I'm waiting for an answer, Spew-tron!"

Spew-tron. She hadn't called him that in a long time, and he finally found enough anger to respond.

"I'll tell you if you take this death grip off me!" He said, his eyes narrowing similar to hers.

She let go of his shoulders, not looking happy about it. She folded her arms.

_"Well?"_

But he couldn't tell her. He couldn't tell her the reason. He couldn't tell her that he had fallen in love with her, somehow, some way, beyond his field of comprehension, where there weren't a lot of things.

But he had to. And he could only think of one way.

"C'mere." He said, and with a hammering heart he grabbed one of her hands and pulled her down the hallway. He could feel his heart pulsing in that hand, and he was sure she could feel it too.

"Where the heck are we going!" She demanded, only seeming to get angrier by the second.

He found his destination. There was an old janitor's broom closet that was always left unlocked, and he opened the door and dragged a very confused Cindy behind him, then closed the door. They were engulfed in darkness. He felt around the wall until he found the light switch, then flicked it on.

They looked out of place, standing there among the mops and brooms and cleaning detergents. There wasn't a whole lot of room in that closet. Cindy looked angrier than he had seen her - at least at him - in a while.

"Have you finally lost your mind!" She demanded. "Why don't you tell me what the hell has been going on with you lately?"

So he decided to tell her. He couldn't believe what he was going to do, he knew he would proubably regret it for the rest of his life, but he did it. Just like that, he leaned foward and kissed a very surprised Cindy Vortex.

It was like nothing he had ever felt in his whole entire life. He thought seeing her made him tingle, he thought when their hands brushed each other it was tingly, but as they stood their with their lips pressed against each other, he felt as if an entire full jolt of electricity shot off from her lips and coursed through his entire body. He was light headed, and convinced they weren't really in the janitor's closet, but floating through the stars somewhere in deep space. For those few seconds, he felt like the happiest man on Earth, and felt like he could never stop being happy again. The anxiety and anger he had been feeling for what felt like forever over his feelings for her dissapeared, and were replaced entirely with relief.

He realized he had taken one of her hands in his. It wasn't holding his back, but it wasn't pulling away, either. The fingers were all stuck straight out in shock. The skin on her hands was so smooth. It was amazing how her hands could look so small and delicate, but so fierce when they were curled up into fists. They were strong, but delicate, much like her personality.

It felt like hours, but it was actually mere seconds, before he pulled away. As he opened his eyes he wondered for a split second if her eyes had been open from shock, but they were still closed when he opened his.

For a moment, neither of them moved. She stook there, rigid as a board, with a look of pure surprise on her face. As she seemed to come back to her senses, the look in her eyes became almost dreamy. And then, suddenly, her face clouded over, and the next thing Jimmy knew he had been shoved roughly in the chest and was lying amongst the mops and buckets.

"You _jerk_!" She yelled, her hands now curling into fists. "What, do you think I'm just..just some _slut_ that you can drag into closets and do whatever you want with! Well, you've got another thing coming!"

Angrily, she went to march out and leave a dissapointed Jimmy among all the mops and brooms.  
She reached for the doorknob, and her hand clasped around it, and suddenly, she stopped moving.  
She just stood there for a moment, her hand on the doorknob, and suddenly, with no warning at all, she turned around, heaved Jimmy to his feet, pushed him against the wall, and picked up exactly where they had left off.

When they moved to the center of the closet, Jimmy didn't know. When she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his, in response to which he wrapped his arms around her waist, he didn't know. When their mouths both opened to allow the other's tounge to find it's way in, he didn't know. But the next thing he DID know, the closet door was opened and they both jumped about a mile.

A shocked looking janitor stood in the doorway. It didn't take long for his shock to dissolve into anger.

"Gah! Get out! Get out of my closet!" He yelled, and Jimmy and Cindy wasted no time getting out. "This is a broom closet, not a love shack!" He grabbed the detergent he needed and slammed the door, making sure to lock it and give Jimmy and Cindy angry looks. "Teens and their hormones.." he muttered loudly before walking away.

Jimmy and Cindy, both blushing deeply, looked at each other, and then in front of them, where Carl, Sheen and Libby were standing with their mouths hanging open.

Nobody said anything for a very awkard moment. The three of them simply stood with their mouths open, and Jimmy and Cindy stood blushing a very deep red. Suddenly, Sheen's face morphed into a smile.

"Alright, Jimmy! Way to get busy in the closet!" He yelled, and with this the other two seemed to loosen up.

"Ooh, girl, I knew this would happen someday." Libby said, grinning as well.

Jimmy and Cindy both couldn't help but grin, glancing at each other.

"Wow, Jimmy, I've never seen your face so red before." Carl remarked.

Libby giggled. "Come on, guys, I think we need to leave these two alone." She grabbed Sheen and Carl's arms and dragged them off, but not before Sheen gave Jimmy an enthusiastic thumbs up.

They were alone in the hallway now, both confused and unbelieving of what had just happened.

Jimmy cleared his throat. "So, um..we should go now.."

"Oh! Uh, yeah. We should." Cindy said, and it was clear this was all just as nervous and awkward for her as it was for him.

They walked together in silence until they were outside the building. Then, suddenly, Jimmy felt one of those strong-but-delicate hands grab his own. He looked over at the strong-but-delicate girl, and saw she was smiling, her cheeks still faintly pink. He smiled too, and suddenly, felt a lot less nervous, a lot less confused, and a lot less worried than he had for a very long time. The only thing he felt was that electricity, sparking in the spot where their hands were touching and spreading from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.

_Maybe,_ he thought, as they walked hand-in-hand down the road. _This whole growing up thing won't be so bad after all._

_**THE END**_


End file.
